Nikon introduced
two 1.4X Teleconverters in 1983 in an effort to serve more precisely various types
of Nikkor lenses which constantly growing in number and varieties.

Credit: Images of both Nikkor TC-14A and TC-14B above are downloaded from
Nikon USA website, both have been scaled and retouched slightly for the purpose of
broadcasting here.

Basically, realizing the potential
for a wider scopes of potential users who are more in favour of losing only a f-stop
loss in lens speed and the previous original version of the Ai Nikon TC-14 Teleconverter introduced in 1978
did has some limitation on lenses at shorter focal length, Nikon replaced the model
with two separate devices which are supposedly cater for two main group of Nikkor
lenses - one for under 300mm focal length and another for lenses of longer focal
length above the 300mm.

Both of these
teleconverter extend the focal length of the primary lens in use by a factor of 1.4x.
The main strength of these two Converters are, other than they has a flat design,
more compact in overall dimension and much lighter in their weight, over the 2X Nikon
Ai converters (such as the TC-200, TC-201, TC-300 and TC-301) is, they only decrease the
lens speed of the primary lens by one full-stop. Next, a more important factor is,
many lens types in the Nikkor lens family can be used with improved compatibility.
For an instance, the TC-14A is designed for use with all Nikkor lenses up to 300
mm focal length, with Reflex-Nikkor
lenses,
and virtually all Zoom
Nikkor lenses
of up to 100 mm focal length can also be used. While on the other hand, the TC-14B
was specifically designed for use with Nikkor telephoto lenses over 135 mm focal
length and many Zoom Nikkor lenses over 200 mm focal length. The TC-14B is also compatible
with some selected high speed Nikkor telephoto lenses such as Nikkor 135mm f/2.0, Nikkor 200mm f/4.0, Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 ED, and even the Reflex-Nikkor
500mm f/8.0
can also be used without any incompatibility issues.

Lastly, inline
with introduction and implementation of other exposure control systems such as Multi-Programmed
AE, Shutter Priority AE etc. that began surfacing during the first quarter of the
'80 on many of the Nikon SLRs, both of the Nikon TC-14A/B Teleconverters have catered
for such changes in their design where programmed automatic exposure control has
been incorporated into the mechanism for flawless transmission of lens data between
the Ai-S lenses and the Nikon Ai-Spec camera bodies.

As for such
a long period of time Nikon has NOT been able to design a true working AF Teleconverter(s)
for their AF camera bodies until lately (other than the luxurious class AF-I/AF-S
series of super telephoto lenses), many Nikon users have to live with such hard fact
and has to be reverted back to MF photography when a converter needs to be used for
their photography. However, both of the Teleconverters were quite popular as many
of the AF Nikkor lenses can be used without any form of modifications, it is also
evidenced by repeatedly surfacing of such used units at popular online auction sales
outlets.

The TC-14A/B
has an AF equivalent, AF-I
1.4X TC-14E (along
with a 2X AF-I TC-20E AF Teleconverter) which was designed and intended to use as
a matching Teleconverter for AF operation for the AF-I series Nikkor lenses with
an AF Nikon SLR for quiet and fast autofocus operation. The AF-I TC-14E has a slight
update where the current AF-S series AF Nikkor lenses can also be used.

The Ai-Spec series of this 85mm telephoto
lens was first Introduced in 1977 while the last series of this manual focus version
carries an Ai-S lens spec where it was introduced during late August, 1981. However,
there are little difference in lens specifications for both of these series as the
Ai-S lens was a direct upgrade from the AI version. Both versions are solidly built
and like other Nikkor lenses produced those days, the quality feel is all over. The
lens coating of its front lens element has a deeply pinkish cast, it clearly distinguishes
itself from the previous AI version which has a greenish lens coating.

This is for a Nikon 1.4x TC-14B Tele Converter lens.
Compatible with Nikon manual SLR cameras, this lens is very high
quality. Features a rugged metal mount. It gives your lens
1.4 times its focal length!

Important
Note: * Sometimes,
certain combinations of various lenses, teleconverter(s) and focusing screen(s) used
on respective Nikon SLRs may require additional
exposure compensation, where applicable. The leaflet that comes along with the hardware
may outlined the requirements.**
When
used with certain lenses, there may be occasional uneven exposure if aperture is
set smaller than f/11 or beyond and/or in some cases, may cause vignetting of image.
***AF-I and AF-S
series Nikkor lenses are NOT advisable to be used in combination with this converter,
use the dedicated TC-20E(II) or TC-14E (II) instead (see below for more info).

In 1993, Nikon
finally introduced an AF-I TC-20E Teleconverter for the AF-I series super-telephoto
lenses. A year later in 1994, an AF-I TC-14E was followed. The current version
of the Nikon AF Teleconverters are TC-14E II 1.4x AF-S, AF-I Teleconverter
and TC-20E II 1.4x AF-S, AF-I Teleconverter which serves more to the newer
series of AF-S Nikkor lenses.

Credit: Images of
both Nikkor TC-14E II and TC-2.0E II above are downloaded from Nikon USA website,
both have been scaled and retouched slightly for the purpose of broadcasting here.Note: The compatible lenses mentioned are as of December, 2002. As
AF-S series lenses are continuously being introduced by Nikon in sequential order,
the applicable lenses mentioned may be expended in future.

Credit: MCLau®, who has helped to rewrite
some of the content appeared this site. Chuck Hester® who has been helping
me all along with the development of all these Nikon websites;LarsHolst Hansen, 'Hawkeye'
who shares the same passion I have; Ms Rissa, Sales manager
from Nikon Corporation Malaysia for granting permission to use some of the official
content; TedWengelaar,Holland
who
has helped to provide many useful input relating to older Nikkor lenses; Some of the references
on production serial numbers used in this site were extracted from Roland Vink's website; HiuraShinsaku from Nikomat
Club Japan. Lastly,
to all the good people who has contributed their own expeience, resources or kind
enough granted permission to use their images of their respective optic in this site.
It is also a site to remember a long
lost friend
on the Net.Note:certain content and
images appeared in this site were either scanned from official marketing leaflets
& brochures published by Nikon and/or contribution from surfers who claimed originality
of their work for educational purposes. The creator of the site will not be responsible
for may discrepancies arise from such dispute except rectifying them after verification."Nikon", "Nikkormat", "Nippon Kokagu
KK"
& "Nikkor" are registered
tradename of Nikon Corporation Inc., Japan. Site made with an Apple IMac.